Best RAID Card for Mac.

[mickdelaney]

Hi,
I'm a bit of a novice with raid cards. i have a mac pro 2008 model, and am using it for music production. i want to get a card so i can run RAID 5 against 4 internal 1TB drives.
I've seen that apple sell a card for £560 but also I've noticed people here mentioning caldigit, alothough that seems to be a no no.
i've also heard of Areca or ProAVIO.

Any advise on what to get???
Cheers.

[joaoferro37]

Areca is the real RAID card company.
If you went to NAB, you will find out a lot of capture card companies such as BlackMagic Design, AJA, etc are using Areca.
Why? It works and Apple support it.
CalDigit, I wish you good luck.

[zmttoxics]

Get the Caldigit one. Or the official apple one (which I think is a Caldigit too, im not sure).

Says 2009 MP, but should work the same in a 2008 MP.
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/MB845Z/A?mco=NDcwMjkyMw#overview

Edit: I say get the Caldigit one because its a popular card. It may have issues, but they would be well documented.

[CaptainChunk]

Get the Caldigit one. Or the official apple one (which I think is a Caldigit too, im not sure).

Says 2009 MP, but should work the same in a 2008 MP.
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/MB845Z/A?mco=NDcwMjkyMw#overview

Edit: I say get the Caldigit one because its a popular card. It may have issues, but they would be well documented.

The 2009 MP RAID card is actually different than the 2008 part because the drive backplanes are different...

2009 MPs have soldered backplanes, so the card needs to bypass the stock SATA controller internally, through the PCIe bus. The 2008 MP RAID card bypasses the SATA controller with a cable instead (they use a "floating" wired backplane).

Anyway...

Apple's RAID card is junk. Internal drives only. For over $800, there's much better options out there.

For a 2008 MP, I'd get an Areca or ATTO card, if you ask me. You get a lot more flexibility this way. CalDigit's card is nice, but its external drive support (if that's important to you) is limited to their HDElement enclosures.

[nanofrog]

Areca is the real RAID card company.
If you went to NAB, you will find out a lot of capture card companies such as BlackMagic Design, AJA, etc are using Areca.
Why? It works and Apple support it.
CalDigit, I wish you good luck.
Areca or Atto are good choices that support Macs. They also design and manufacture their own gear, and have good reputations for reliable products. :)
Get the Caldigit one. Or the official apple one (which I think is a Caldigit too, im not sure).

Says 2009 MP, but should work the same in a 2008 MP.
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/MB845Z/A?mco=NDcwMjkyMw#overview

Edit: I say get the Caldigit one because its a popular card. It may have issues, but they would be well documented.
CalDigit's card is made by Accusys. In my experience, it's unreliable. This may have changed to some extent, as it was rather early (very unstable), but it's still missing features such as Partition Table backups. Extremely handy, if you ever run into a problem.

CalDigit doesn't make Apple's card. It's made by LSI as a custom card for Apple, and is junk. It's overpriced as well. Go figure. :p

[Cynicalone]

I purchased Apple's RAID card with the 09 model. I was worried about who would support it right away, given the internal changes to the Pro.

[nanofrog]

I purchased Apple's RAID card with the 09 model. I was worried about who would support it right away, given the internal changes to the Pro.
Given it's a custom card for Apple, and LSI doesn't support OS X on their own gear, it would have to be Apple. Now whether or not they (tech support) have any idea what they're doing, is another story. :eek: :p

[joaoferro37]

Areca or Atto are good choices that support Macs. They also design and manufacture their own gear, and have good reputations for reliable products. :)

CalDigit's card is made by Accusys. In my experience, it's unreliable. This may have changed to some extent, as it was rather early (very unstable), but it's still missing features such as Partition Table backups. Extremely handy, if you ever run into a problem.

CalDigit doesn't make Apple's card. It's made by LSI as a custom card for Apple, and is junk. It's overpriced as well. Go figure. :p

I still think Areca has good solution for Mac, at least, they made the card their own and they can fully support it.
Not like CalDigit and other companies.

[noushy]

Ok, I had ordered this card the day it was announced since the Mac Pro has limited internal raid options (other than software raid). The Apple Raid Card arrived about a week ago and I finally decided to install it (along with my new nVidia Geforce 285 GTX and a battery for the Highpoint 4322).

The good: Solid construction, built like the Mac Pro. Thin, well supported physically and stable. Mac OS 10.5.6 on recognizes the card, and it works with Apple's own software. Able to use the internal bays without any cabling.

The fair: Software is easy to understand, once you figure it out not to hard to construct various raid levels (0, 1, 5, 1+0, hot spare).

The poor: Price (especially at $700), limited expandability other than 4 internal drive bays, performance. I obtained 190 Mb/s write, 280 Mb/S read with 4x1tb WD Caviar Black drives in Raid0, the same ones Apple provides. My Highpoint card gets 550 Mb/s read/write with 4x300Gb Velociraptor drives in Raid0 externally. Now I understand these are 10k drives and much faster, but more than 2x the performance? Heck even 4x2tb WD Caviar Green drives in Raid5 get 350 Mb/s on the same Highpoint controller.

Having said all this, it is hard to recommend the Apple Raid Card (which BTW shows up as Apple Xserve Raid Card). Even at the price I paid ($525) it is still not a good deal. The only argument I can have for this card is if you absolutely needed an internal hardware raid card to use the 4 hotswap bays, then this is your only choice.

Peace,
Noushy

[nanofrog]

Ok, I had ordered this card the day it was announced since the Mac Pro has limited internal raid options (other than software raid). The Apple Raid Card arrived about a week ago and I finally decided to install it (along with my new nVidia Geforce 285 GTX and a battery for the Highpoint 4322).

The good: Solid construction, built like the Mac Pro. Thin, well supported physically and stable. Mac OS 10.5.6 on recognizes the card, and it works with Apple's own software. Able to use the internal bays without any cabling.

The fair: Software is easy to understand, once you figure it out not to hard to construct various raid levels (0, 1, 5, 1+0, hot spare).

The poor: Price (especially at $700), limited expandability other than 4 internal drive bays, performance. I obtained 190 Mb/s write, 280 Mb/S read with 4x1tb WD Caviar Black drives in Raid0, the same ones Apple provides. My Highpoint card gets 550 Mb/s read/write with 4x300Gb Velociraptor drives in Raid0 externally. Now I understand these are 10k drives and much faster, but more than 2x the performance? Heck even 4x2tb WD Caviar Green drives in Raid5 get 350 Mb/s on the same Highpoint controller.

Having said all this, it is hard to recommend the Apple Raid Card (which BTW shows up as Apple Xserve Raid Card). Even at the price I paid ($525) it is still not a good deal. The only argument I can have for this card is if you absolutely needed an internal hardware raid card to use the 4 hotswap bays, then this is your only choice.

Peace,
Noushy
Ouch. :(

I have both the 300GB VR and 1TB Caviar Blacks. The VR is capable of ~15MB/s more than the Black from what I've been able to get out of them. So you should only be getting something on the order of 60MB/s more from the 4 VR's in a stripe, assuming everything else is the same, or similar enough in performance. ;)

The previous version of Apple's card wasn't wonderful for performance either, and it's likely been modified into the current model, rather than a completely different card. (Upgraded the processor to the next highest clock and eliminated the MiniSAS*4i connection in favor of trace transmission).

[Rick Here]

Ouch. :(

I have both the 300GB VR and 1TB Caviar Blacks. The VR is capable of ~15MB/s more than the Black from what I've been able to get out of them. So you should only be getting something on the order of 60MB/s more from the 4 VR's in a stripe, assuming everything else is the same, or similar enough in performance. ;)

The previous version of Apple's card wasn't wonderful for performance either, and it's likely been modified into the current model, rather than a completely different card. (Upgraded the processor to the next highest clock and eliminated the MiniSAS*4i connection in favor of trace transmission).

I found this on the net.
The Apple card may be from Adaptec - 3400
http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/_common/raid_silicon/

[nanofrog]

I found this on the net.
The Apple card may be from Adaptec - 3400
http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/_common/raid_silicon/
Adaptec's designs are based on Intel parts, not PPC used in the Apple card. That's LSI or 3Ware (AMCC). AMCC makes the PPC chips, but will sell them to other vendors. It also uses an LSI 1064. ;)

[Rick Here]

Adaptec's designs are based on Intel parts, not PPC used in the Apple card. That's LSI or 3Ware (AMCC). AMCC makes the PPC chips, but will sell them to other vendors. It also uses an LSI 1064. ;)

This maybe from Aristos Logic, didn't Adaptec buy them?
search google for AL3400. Why the LSI 1064?

[nanofrog]

This maybe from Aristos Logic, didn't Adaptec buy them?
search google for AL3400. Why the LSI 1064?
Adaptec did buy Aristos Logic, but keep in mind, they were a chip design company. Apparently they wanted the processor IP, and the talent. RAID SoC (RoC) vs. current general processor designs, the RoC offers some serious advantages. I'm not sure Aristos actually had the fab facilities or farmed it out. Farmed if I had to guess, given the cost of a fab these days. :rolleyes:

LSI1064E = 4 port, 3Gb/s SAS controller, PCIe bus

Fits the design, and would likely be one of, if not the least expensive part to do so.

[noushy]

Nano and company. I took the 4 WD Black Edition 1tb drives, and moved them from the internal bays (on apple raid card) to the external Proavio unit. This is connected to the highpoint 4322 card. Raid0, 4x1tb WD Black drives pull 533 Mb/s, or almost 2x the performance of the apple raid card. Same drives, same sector sizes, (512B), even connected on an external bus with cabling and chassis, the Apple raid card is not impressive. I am waiting to get an additional 2 brackets to mount a total of 4 x WD VR 300Gb drives, configured in Raid0 and Raid5 to see if these drives will work better on the Apple card.

Peace,
Noushy

[nanofrog]

Nano and company. I took the 4 WD Black Edition 1tb drives, and moved them from the internal bays (on apple raid card) to the external Proavio unit. This is connected to the highpoint 4322 card. Raid0, 4x1tb WD Black drives pull 533 Mb/s, or almost 2x the performance of the apple raid card. Same drives, same sector sizes, (512B), even connected on an external bus with cabling and chassis, the Apple raid card is not impressive. I am waiting to get an additional 2 brackets to mount a total of 4 x WD VR 300Gb drives, configured in Raid0 and Raid5 to see if these drives will work better on the Apple card.

Peace,
Noushy
Hmm...Not good at all. :rolleyes: :(

I'm not sure how well the VR's would do on that card, particularly as it's a SAS controller. SATA always runs slower, though it should only be about 5% on a well designed card. I'm not so sure about this one, given what you're coming up with in your tests.

SAS drives should work better, but at current costs, not the best bang for your buck. The best drive I can think of off ATM for workstation use, would be the Fujitsu MBA3300RC. Not cheap, but performance never is. :p And I'd still be concerned they wouldn't run as fast as they should on the Apple card. Located on the HighPoint how ever, it should produce :D :D :D. ;)

[nanofrog]

I really really hate to thread jack.... but you guys sound like you really know raid cards... could someone give me a hand?
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=725488
Check the thread for a post. ;)

[TK2K]

Check the thread for a post. ;)

Will do, thanks

[hyram]

I cast my vote for the Highpoint 4322. I've been running one with 8 WD 1TB blacks for about 5 months and it is rock solid. RAID5 at >500mB/s. The user interface leaves a little to be desired but about the same as Areca or Atto as far as that goes.

hyram

[nanofrog]

I cast my vote for the Highpoint 4322. I've been running one with 8 WD 1TB blacks for about 5 months and it is rock solid. RAID5 at >500mB/s. The user interface leaves a little to be desired but about the same as Areca or Atto as far as that goes.

hyram
The HighPoint 4322 and Areca's offerings use the same web browser interface (Areca was the ODM for it). Atto's have an easier/prettier interface IMO, but their gear is also more expensive, and can't upgrade the cache. :( Can't have it all I guess... :rolleyes: :p

[UltraNEO*]

If someone was to ask... and money was no object. ;)

Which would be the ultimate raid solution on the Mac? That'll allow for optimum performance speed and future expandability? Does such a solution truly exist? I'm talking PowerUser here.

As you know, originally I went with the CalDigit card purely due to my limited budget but now i'm looking for more expandability and speed. I've more to spend, so what would you recommend?

[nanofrog]

If someone was to ask... and money was no object. ;)

Which would be the ultimate raid solution on the Mac? That'll allow for optimum performance speed and future expandability? Does such a solution truly exist? I'm talking PowerUser here.

As you know, originally I went with the CalDigit card purely due to my limited budget but now i'm looking for more expandability and speed. I've more to spend, so what would you recommend?
Actually, that's not too hard. :p

Go with the Areca ARC-1680ix24 via external enclosures. It's a SAS model, and can be used SAS expanders. So 128 drives max. :eek: :eek: :D Decent external enclosures, such as Enhance (others as well, just "dumb" boxes). SAS expanders change this, but only if you actually need them. :p

Assuming the expanders won't be used, get internal MiniSAS to external MiniSAS cables to attach to the enclosures. 1 per 4 ports, so you'd need a max of six. You can actually attach an additional 4 drives to the Areca on the external MiniSAS port as well, but it's not there on the Atto (different cable BTW).

So for direct attachment, you can get a max of 28 drives. At 2TB disks, you can stuff 56TB in. That enough? :p

For workstation drives at performance is of greater importance than capacity, I'd go with the Fujitsu MBA3300RC (300GB SAS speed demon). SSD might also be an option, but I'd wait until it matures a little more myself. ;)

You can also run those cards in tandem under Windows/Linux, but I don't know if this feature works in OS X. :confused:

[UltraNEO*]

Actually, that's not too hard. :p

Go with the Areca ARC-1680ix24 via external enclosures. It's a SAS model, and can be used SAS expanders. So 128 drives max. :eek: :eek: :D Decent external enclosures, such as Enhance (others as well, just "dumb" boxes). SAS expanders change this, but only if you actually need them. :p

Assuming the expanders won't be used, get internal MiniSAS to external MiniSAS cables to attach to the enclosures. 1 per 4 ports, so you'd need a max of six. You can actually attach an additional 4 drives to the Areca on the external MiniSAS port as well, but it's not there on the Atto (different cable BTW).

So for direct attachment, you can get a max of 28 drives. At 2TB disks, you can stuff 56TB in. That enough? :p

For workstation drives at performance is of greater importance than capacity, I'd go with the Fujitsu MBA3300RC (300GB SAS speed demon). SSD might also be an option, but I'd wait until it matures a little more myself. ;)

You can also run those cards in tandem under Windows/Linux, but I don't know if this feature works in OS X. :confused:

http://www.areca.com.tw/support/photo/ARC-1680IX_24.jpg

Interesting choice Nano, sir.
For me, capacity is more important but speed does help.

How about going via the fibre channel route?
I was looking at the standalone external hardware systems just now, even checking out the Promise Arrays at an reseller here in Japan.
What are the Pros and Cons? Besides cost?

[nanofrog]

http://www.areca.com.tw/support/photo/ARC-1680IX_24.jpg

Interesting choice Nano, sir.
For me, capacity is more important but speed does help.
Ah, OK. I was thinking you were after:
1. DAS, not SAN
2. Speed over capacity, as 24 or 28 disks can offer quite a bit of both. :D

How about going via the fibre channel route?
I was looking at the standalone external hardware systems just now, even checking out the Promise Arrays at an reseller here in Japan.
What are the Pros and Cons? Besides cost?
Nothing wrong with it really, but isn't it overkill for a workstation?

If you're looking at the VTE610fD or VTE610fS (http://www.promise.com/product/product_detail_eng.asp?product_id=187), then we're talking 16 drives, at a max of 80 drives, which are still SAS BTW. It's also SAN, so it uses a protocol (FCP), similar to TCP/IP. It's more appropriate if it needs to be available to multiple systems, but I'm assuming you don't need that.

So thinking in terms of the drive quantities, and speed won't exceed the use of a SAS RAID controller, then it comes down to either cost, or the need to make it available to other systems. DAS is usually cheaper. And as mentioned, you can actually get the Areca to operate 128 drives. You just need expanders.

Might I ask what the cost is there? And is it for just a single system, or multiples?

[UltraNEO*]

Ah, OK. I was thinking you were after:
1. DAS, not SAN
2. Speed over capacity, as 24 or 28 disks can offer quite a bit of both. :D


Nothing wrong with it really, but isn't it overkill for a workstation?

If you're looking at the VTE610fD or VTE610fS (http://www.promise.com/product/product_detail_eng.asp?product_id=187), then we're talking 16 drives, at a max of 80 drives, which are still SAS BTW. It's also SAN, so it uses a protocol (FCP), similar to TCP/IP. It's more appropriate if it needs to be available to multiple systems, but I'm assuming you don't need that.

So thinking in terms of the drive quantities, and speed won't exceed the use of a SAS RAID controller, then it comes down to either cost, or the need to make it available to other systems. DAS is usually cheaper. And as mentioned, you can actually get the Areca to operate 128 drives. You just need expanders.

Might I ask what the cost is there? And is it for just a single system, or multiples?

Yeah, I think it's most will definitely be an overkill but looking at the amount of data and space i'm currently chewing up (per project) I thought it might be worth it in the long run. Currently with 2.78Tb I'm left with a little over 1~3Gb of free space!! And that's before I make external back ups!!

More a tiresome chore than a task!!! :(

Besides, HDPro's are way over priced... so as a resort to rebuilding my storage means I wanna do it right. Also, with Apple's prior history I don't wanna waste money and time upgrading interface cards over and over again!!

Hence moving to an all external solution - I figure upgrading/exchanging FC cards seems to be way cheaper than upgrading internal raid solutions... plus, the disk format would remain the same - less time reconfiguring stuff. Right?

Currently there's two MacPro's and MacBook on the network, though I only use one of them, other is there for backup/non-work related. I do have various other systems about but not in uses.

As for budget... well.. I can stretch to about £8000, given there's the option to expand later :D Though I'd probably import the unit instead of buying in the UK! (ripp off!)

[nanofrog]

Yeah, I think it's most will definitely be an overkill but looking at the amount of data and space i'm currently chewing up (per project) I thought it might be worth it in the long run. Currently with 2.78Tb I'm left with a little over 1~3Gb of free space!! And that's before I make external back ups!!

More a tiresome chore than a task!!! :(

Besides, HDPro's are way over priced... so as a resort to rebuilding my storage means I wanna do it right. Also, with Apple's prior history I don't wanna waste money and time upgrading interface cards over and over again!!

Hence moving to an all external solution - I figure upgrading/exchanging FC cards seems to be way cheaper than upgrading internal raid solutions... plus, the disk format would remain the same - less time reconfiguring stuff. Right?

Currently there's two MacPro's and MacBook on the network, though I only use one of them, other is there for backup/non-work related. I do have various other systems about but not in uses.

As for budget... well.. I can stretch to about £8000, given there's the option to expand later :D Though I'd probably import the unit instead of buying in the UK! (ripp off!)
Given the fact you only use one computer, do you really need to go through the hassle and expense of making the storage available to multiple systems?

The RAID card solution, like FC gear, gives you the ability to expand over time. (Just add an enclosure). Expanders can be used to get you 128 drives, so that can get you lots of space. More than the FC gear you're looking at. :eek: :D It's also cheaper.

If you do decide you want the storage available to all the systems, then you'd need to put an FC card in each machine, and an FC router/switch.

You'd be able to transfer the card(s) to newer systems as you upgrade, provided PCIe is still being used. :eek: Nothing lasts forever...;) :p

If you give me an idea of drive quantities now and expansion rate, I can give you an idea of what enclosure to get. (If expanders are needed or not). Also, I might be able to give you a site or two that has the gear at better pricing than a UK source, and that would ship internationally. :D

[UltraNEO*]

Given the fact you only use one computer, do you really need to go through the hassle and expense of making the storage available to multiple systems?

The RAID card solution, like FC gear, gives you the ability to expand over time. (Just add an enclosure). Expanders can be used to get you 128 drives, so that can get you lots of space. More than the FC gear you're looking at. :eek: :D It's also cheaper.

If you do decide you want the storage available to all the systems, then you'd need to put an FC card in each machine, and an FC router/switch.

You'd be able to transfer the card(s) to newer systems as you upgrade, provided PCIe is still being used. :eek: Nothing lasts forever...;) :p

If you give me an idea of drive quantities now and expansion rate, I can give you an idea of what enclosure to get. (If expanders are needed or not). Also, I might be able to give you a site or two that has the gear at better pricing than a UK source, and that would ship internationally. :D

At the moment I'm just doing some ground work, research and learning..
I haven't yet made a definite decision as to what I'm gonna upgrade too. Only it won't be a HDPro.

However, if i do choose the FC route, would I be limited to the Promise VTE610 series or would any FC compatible storage unit work? I'm thinking those storage devices working independantly of the workstation, regardless of OS, right? And in some units I'm able to use both SAS and SATA devices, where as internal controller cards have certain restrictions, too much wiring and too many boxes.

[nanofrog]

At the moment I'm just doing some ground work, research and learning..
I haven't yet made a definite decision as to what I'm gonna upgrade too. Only it won't be a HDPro.
Research is a really good thing to do. ;) Especially before ordering. :eek: :p

However, if i do choose the FC route, would I be limited to the Promise VTE610 series or would any FC compatible storage unit work? I'm thinking those storage devices working independently of the workstation, regardless of OS, right? And in some units I'm able to use both SAS and SATA devices, where as internal controller cards have certain restrictions, too much wiring and too many boxes.
From the way Promise's page was written, I had the impression it was sold as a "system", which would consist of the FC card and the enclosure. You'd need to contact Promise to verify what's up.

According to the datasheet, the listed OS's are Win 2003 and Linux (Red Hat & SuSe). SAS controllers can run SATA drives, so that would be universal. Just be warned that SAS is usually very picky with SATA drives, and usually won't function with consumer models due to the TLER timings (frequent drop outs).

In their part family, D = Dual Controller (redundant), and S = Single Controller.

You're sort of loosing me on the wiring bit. :confused: SAS expanders are easy. And direct cables aren't bad either. :) One card with six cables attached and running from the computer to 3*8 bay enclosures gives you 24 drives of storage madness. :D

[Virtuoso]

For what it's worth I get pretty good performance from my Caldigit card - 258MB/s in both read and write. This is on a 4 drive RAID5 array with Western Digital RE2 drives.

I had a load of problems initially but once they'd sorted out the firmware and drivers it bedded in nicely. I've been using it for about a year now with no problems.

There are probably better solutions out there though - if I was looking for a new one I would want one that was compatible with both the 2009 and 2008 Mac Pros, a decent amount of onboard cache and a built in battery. Oh and also one where the company didn't gang rape you on pricing for external expansion. :rolleyes:

[noushy]

Nano,
So far, I have 2 of the WD Raptors running on the internal apple raid card. In raid0, when working, gets around 220-250Mb/s, which is decent. However, every so often when the system sleeps or reboots, one or both drives are not recognized, or if one drive is, it says bay 0, not bays 1 or 2. Flakey so far, but I am taking your advice, going to purchase 4 x ST3300656SS seagate SAS drives (300GB) or the ST3450856SS (450GB) drives. I think the 300s will do, since this is going to be either a scratch disk/application volume, and for storage and editing, I have the Proavio unit with the 8 WD drives for now (12tb). The Highpoint card really is solid as far as performance. Using 2 minisas 4088 cables to the chassis, and it works great. For now, I am happy with this arrangement. I picked the Seagates because as a consultant, I get a better price (around $200 for the 300Gb, $290 for the 450Gb). One other questions, other than for large photoshop files, will bumping the ram from 12gb to 24gb make any improvement on day to day function? I still don't think the money is well spent on 4gb dimms.

Peace,
Noushy

[nanofrog]

Nano,
So far, I have 2 of the WD Raptors running on the internal apple raid card. In raid0, when working, gets around 220-250Mb/s, which is decent. However, every so often when the system sleeps or reboots, one or both drives are not recognized, or if one drive is, it says bay 0, not bays 1 or 2. Flakey so far, but I am taking your advice, going to purchase 4 x ST3300656SS seagate SAS drives (300GB) or the ST3450856SS (450GB) drives. I think the 300s will do, since this is going to be either a scratch disk/application volume, and for storage and editing, I have the Proavio unit with the 8 WD drives for now (12tb). The Highpoint card really is solid as far as performance. Using 2 minisas 4088 cables to the chassis, and it works great. For now, I am happy with this arrangement. I picked the Seagates because as a consultant, I get a better price (around $200 for the 300Gb, $290 for the 450Gb). One other questions, other than for large photoshop files, will bumping the ram from 12gb to 24gb make any improvement on day to day function? I still don't think the money is well spent on 4gb dimms.

Peace,
Noushy
I've an idea you should try first with the Velociraptors. ;)
Get a copy of the WDTLER Utility (a search will turn up a link someone's posted), and use it to adjust the drive's recovery values from 0,7 (default) to 0,0 for RAID use (seconds). This should help, so give it a shot before buying anything. :)

As for SAS drives, the Cheetah's are good, but more for server use (sequential) than workstation. The Fujitsu MBA3300RC (300GB, no larger) is better for workstation use (better at random reads). I've no idea how well they'd work on the Apple card, but it's throughput is decent with the Velociraptors. So perhaps it will do better with SAS. It's supposed to optimized for it afterall... :p

Up to you, but I'm under the impression you're more workstation than server for usage pattern. ;) If this is wrong, let me know. :p

[noushy]

Nano, the Raptors are all in the Enterprise category, ie. Read/Write TLER set at 7s,0s by default. This is the optimal setting from WD for a RAID controller. For desktop use, it makes sense to set them to 0s,0s. Since I plan to use them in a RAID5 config, doesn't it make sense to leave the settings default? Please see this wikipedia link and tell me what you think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-Limited_Error_Recovery

Peace,
Noushy

[nanofrog]

Nano, the Raptors are all in the Enterprise category, ie. Read/Write TLER set at 7s,0s by default. This is the optimal setting from WD for a RAID controller. For desktop use, it makes sense to set them to 0s,0s. Since I plan to use them in a RAID5 config, doesn't it make sense to leave the settings default? Please see this wikipedia link and tell me what you think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-Limited_Error_Recovery

Peace,
Noushy
Given they were first being listed as performance drives, I'd think their default settings are those of a consumer drive (0,0). I've not pulled up the Utility with these drives though, as I've not had the need to.

Worth a shot at least, if you can run the utility. ;) It's not quite so easy on a mac pro, if you don't have a USB boot stick or USB floppy drive and a boot floppy. The settings are up to you, as you can go for 7,0 or 7,7. Given it only partially drops out, try 7,0 first, and test. Up to you.

Sorry about 0,7. :o I'm getting dyslexic these days. :D :p

[noushy]

Nano,
I have not had time to reset the TLER status, but having said that, the VR continue to have problems with the Apple Raid Card. The WD Caviar Black Edition drives worked great, Raid0, Raid5, fantastic, no problems. My machine started beeping last night, drive failure raid card alarm. Had to power down since I did not have time to deal with it. Nothing but problems with the Raptors on the Apple Raid card. I decided to bite the bullet and ordered a few seagate sas drives (Cheetah 15k.6 450GB) to try out. I really want to run my Mac Pro OS off the raid card, and use my Raid5 for backup and nearline storage. Thoughts Nano?